frawfs deal by midnight the house still has to pass the measure before the president can sign into it law. randall pinkston, cbs news, washington. >> even if it takes a few days to finish lawmakers say the cuts will be made retroactively but for federal employees they could go to work on wednesday not knowing if they will be sent home. if those automatic spending cuts kick in, there might not be enough money to run their agencies. kristen. >> reporter: the words that i keep hearing over and over are us from straight and confused. people are very frustrated with all this uncertainty, congress, and even the phrase fiscal cliff. at the same time people are confused and very concerned about what going over the cliff is going to mean for them. earlier i was at the president's press conference. when he started speaking, everyone stopped what they were doing. we're talk dozens of people. here they are on pennsylvania avenue in between the white house and capitol hill, and they were hoping to hear the president say, we got a deal. instead, all they heard was a deal is within sight. >> reporter: d